Local: NCDC says test results of Dubai, UK and US returnees will not be shared with public

No less than 253 Nigerians were recently evacuated from the United Kingdom (UK) by the Federal Government and 265 others evacuated from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) amid the Coronavirus outbreak.

Also on May 10, 160 Nigerians who were stranded in the United States following the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director-General of Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) who was responding to questions during the Presidential Task Force (PTF) briefing on COVID-19 on Thursday made it known to the public that the agency does not share test results of individuals publicly and the test results of Nigerians evacuated from Dubai, United Kingdom and the United States is not an exemption. He stressed that the results of the returnees will remain with them and not make public.

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Chikwe said that the returnees are still in isolation undergoing the stipulated 14 days of self-isolation. He further added “we are doing the test, even when the tests are out we are not going to offer it to you. We will offer it to the returnees. If they are patients we will manage that”.

He said they are not going to make public the results whether you just came back from Dubai or you are living in Nigeria. Results are meant for patients who got tested

The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that it plans to evacuate more Nigerians from Canada, China and other countries in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu also announced at his address that the Agency is partnering with scientific organizations across the country, concentrating on domestic science and research. He said that the Department is collaborating with TETFUND, NIMR, ACEGID, LUTH, and others, to find a solution to the epidemic.